A few questions about motor install

[tunakan]

First off, my bike: 1994 kat 600. full yosh exhaust and K&N pods.

I recently installed a "new" motor and carbs into the kat. its not really new, it has about 12000 miles on it, but it is new to me. Ok, the thing is though that it has been sitting for about 6 months without being ran, the motor oil was drained a week before it was shipped to me.

My questions:
-What, if anything, do I need to do, check for, watch out for, before I fire this puppy up?
-While installing the carbs, some gas leaked out, which makes me believe that there is still gas in the bowls that could be up to 6 months old. Should I deep clean the carbs (rebuild) or just drain the bowls and refill with fresh gas?
-I forgot to make a mental note of how the shifter linkage was positioned, does it matter how I position it (whats most comfortable for me) or is there a certain way it needs to go on?
-What is the purpose of the metal dowel rod that is next to the front sprocket, Ive taken that thing in and out numerous times, just want to make sure Im not causing any "would be harm" to the engine.
-How many quarts of oil will the kat hold? the oil cooler has been drained as well as a new filter, I went out and bought 5 quarts just to be safe, but thought I better check first.
-Also, I figure my bike is probably running a tad lean. especially with the intake/exhaust set up I have. (they were on when I bought the bike) Should I have the carbs rejetted, and if so, what size jets should I go with?

any info or advice would greatly be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jason

[SweetLou]

I can answer only one of those questions.

Look at it this way. If you pull the carbs apart now, while the whole thing is apart, you are saving yourself some time, because it will need to be done in the future anyway. With that many miles already on the engine, there may be a need to replace some seals in the carbs, make sure every thing is set right, and that they are clean. I would just go ahead and pull them and clean them out. If you are running pods, you are going to need to re-jet it, because you are getting such a difference in air flow. I have heard that pods are a pain to keep in tune though, you may want to stay with just the regular air box. Also, with the full exhaust you will need to re-jet the bike.

Good luck and have fun with the new engine!

[floxera]

Re: A few questions about motor install

First off, my bike: 1994 kat 600. full yosh exhaust and K&N pods.

I recently installed a "new" motor and carbs into the kat. its not really new, it has about 12000 miles on it, but it is new to me. Ok, the thing is though that it has been sitting for about 6 months without being ran, the motor oil was drained a week before it was shipped to me.

My questions:
-What, if anything, do I need to do, check for, watch out for, before I fire this puppy up?

I would adjust the valves while everything is still apart.
Make sure everything is buttoned up and torqued properly.
Check all the gaskets.

-While installing the carbs, some gas leaked out, which makes me believe that there is still gas in the bowls that could be up to 6 months old. Should I deep clean the carbs (rebuild) or just drain the bowls and refill with fresh gas?

If the bike doesn't fire up you'll be wondering if the carbs are gummed up with varnished gas. I would clean the carbs for sure.

-I forgot to make a mental note of how the shifter linkage was positioned, does it matter how I position it (whats most comfortable for me) or is there a certain way it needs to go on?

Well the good news is you can't put it on upsidedown. I tried. (wanted to try 1 up 5 down GP style.) I'd put it in nuetral and adjust it to comfort.

-What is the purpose of the metal dowel rod that is next to the front sprocket, Ive taken that thing in and out numerous times, just want to make sure Im not causing any "would be harm" to the engine.

I don't know the technical name for the rod, but the rod goes through the engine case to the clutch. When you pull the clutch lever the rod is pushed in disengaging the clutch.

-How many quarts of oil will the kat hold? the oil cooler has been drained as well as a new filter, I went out and bought 5 quarts just to be safe, but thought I better check first.

5 quarts will be enough. When I changed my engine I also changed the oil a couple times just to cycle out all the old oil.

-Also, I figure my bike is probably running a tad lean. especially with the intake/exhaust set up I have. (they were on when I bought the bike) Should I have the carbs rejetted, and if so, what size jets should I go with?

I think your guess is right but I have no experience with rejetting I'm sure others will have advice on this subject.

[The CyberPoet]

Re: A few questions about motor install

-What, if anything, do I need to do, check for, watch out for, before I fire this puppy up?

Check the cam chain tensioner operation if you still have the engine out, and be prepared to replace the spring if necessary. Its common to have them fail on an engine that old.

You should probably also do a compression leak down test at this stage of the game (to ensure that you didn't buy a lemon). To get accurate results, you need to set the valve adjustments, so you might as well do that now as well.

Other issues:
Damages from lack of oil at the cylinders. Unscrew the spark plugs, put one to two tablespoons of fresh oil in each cylinder, then turn the engine over by hand (rotating the rear wheel or via the signal generator nut -- leave the plugs out at this time) a dozen times. This will spread that oil around the rings' path and help keep you from having a dry fire-up. I'd brush some onto the valves tappets, cam and timing chain as well using a nylon brush. Fit new plugs, dump the oil cooler (if it came with the engine or has old oil in it), put in the new oil.

Make sure you use the CDI from the new engine if it's a different displacement or from the next generation of engines (such as a 98+ engine).

-While installing the carbs, some gas leaked out, which makes me believe that there is still gas in the bowls that could be up to 6 months old. Should I deep clean the carbs (rebuild) or just drain the bowls and refill with fresh gas?

Drain the carbs, open the float bowls and look inside -- is it clean, or is it nasty/varnished/rusted? If it's nasty, strip/clean/rebuild the carbs. If it's clean, be thankful, but still double check the gaskets and clean the jets with a nylon bristle (nylon being softer than the metal of the jets shouldn't damage it). Check the needle for excess wear.

-How many quarts of oil will the kat hold? the oil cooler has been drained as well as a new filter, I went out and bought 5 quarts just to be safe, but thought I better check first.

Officially, 4.7 to 5 liters with the oil cooler dry. Put in 4.5 liters before you run it, then run for a few minutes, shut down and add in whatever more you'll need. Do not rev the engine nor place it in gear during the first 10 to 15 minutes (i.e. how ever long it takes to come up to full temp the first time), as it will take time for the oil to spread everywhere and get thin enough to get in all the tight clearance areas. After it's hot, put it in first and let the rear wheel spin for a few minutes (to help circulate oils in the tranny) before shutting down.

-Also, I figure my bike is probably running a tad lean. especially with the intake/exhaust set up I have. (they were on when I bought the bike) Should I have the carbs rejetted, and if so, what size jets should I go with?

Until the jets have been cleaned and the engine fired up, you won't know if it's running lean or not. Additionally, you probably don't have any idea of what jets are already in there from the new engine (check when you have them apart)...

Good Luck!
=-= The CyberPoet

[Special K]

Looks like the other guys got most of the stuff, so I'll just comment on the one I didn't see anybody answer:

Jetting your carbs.

With what you've got, I'd go with a DynoJet kit and use 120-134 main jets.

I'd say start out with the 120 jets, then try 124 jets, then 130. Lastly, 134 jets, but only if you're looking for LOTS of top end! If I had to pick just ONE SET, I'd say go with the 120's. 8)

[tunakan]

Awesome, thanks for the help guys. I was working on the bike last night and its pretty much back together getting ready to fire her up. But for some reason I cant get it into neutral, I tried rocking the bike back and forth and tried to shift at the same time, but no luck, is there something Im doing wrong?


EDIT: Ok, scratch that, I got it into neutral, I was just being a dumbass and shifting in the wrong direction....nar.....Anyway,I started it up tonite, took a few tries, but eventually it started. I left the choke half way on so the engine wouldnt die, and eventually eased the choke all the way off. it ran for about 10 mins and then I topped it off with the oil I had left. I started it back up and let it idle a little more, then I tried to shift it into gear, as soon as I shifted it into 1st, it died. Id start it back up and try it again, and it shut itself off. Any idea why this is happening?

[Yellow]

... then I tried to shift it into gear, as soon as I shifted it into 1st, it died. Id start it back up and try it again, and it shut itself off. Any idea why this is happening?

Sidestand not up or switch malfunctioning?

[Mr. Clean]

Yeah that sounds like a kickstand issue. Either it is down or the switch is malfunctioning.

[tunakan]

yep that was it, I forgot to reinstall the switch after I hooked everything back up, thanks guys.